


Café Mocha Please ; SoMa

by tzuyuwu



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fanfiction, Manga & Anime, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 08:33:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20005369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tzuyuwu/pseuds/tzuyuwu
Summary: After Soul messes up Maka's coffee order by accident and finds her over-the-top reactions to be hilarious, he decides to play a prank on her by always messing up her drink.





	1. o n e

**Author's Note:**

> TW // mild sexist behaviour, mild cussing that may not be appropriate if you're young
> 
> Hello everyone! It's been sooooooooooo long since I last posted something here, I'm really sorry about it! Second semester of school was absolute hell, and I'm not exaggerating. I promise to work hard on writing and will do my best to get new works out for you all, so be patient! Please enjoy this little Soul Eater fanfiction, as I've recently gotten back into anime after a couple years of not watching it :)

I know that I am the coolest guy on earth. I wear the coolest clothes, have the coolest haircut, ride the coolest motorbike, nothing could be cooler.

Except for my job.

I work at a lame coffee shop with lame coworkers and make lame coffee for lame customers. I desperately needed a job to pay off my crippling student debt, and luckily, my best friend Black Star, had a girlfriend, Tsubaki, who was the manager at the coffee shop that was just off campus. I’m grateful that she’s so kind and patient with me, and that she let me have this job.

Feeling myself start to get bored as I was cleaning out old coffee grounds from the machine, I did a scope of the shop. There weren’t too many people: a few students around the same age as me with their laptops out, furiously typing away, and a table with several elderly people seated at it, you know, the usual people who’d be in a coffee shop midday.

As I was finishing up my cleaning, I heard a bell chime, signaling that a customer had entered. I looked up to see a group of three people entered: there was a short boy with black striped hair, and two girls who seemed to be sisters. 

I approached the cash register, not very eager to help, “hi, what can I get you?’

“I will take a latte with almond milk,” said the boy with the striped hair, “but I want the frothed milk to be poured perfectly so that it’s symmetrical. And I’ll get that with two sugars, but make sure that the two sugars are poured at equal distances away from each other in the cup.”

“Uhh,” I stared at him as I grabbed a cup and marked down his order, “what’s your name?”

“Kid,” the boy replied flatly.

“Kid?” I said in a puzzled tone.

“Yes, it’s Kid!” He shouted back, “are you making fun of my name?”

“N-No!” I panicked, I honestly wasn’t making fun of him, his name was just… weird.

“Oh, hi Kid!” I heard Tsubaki’s voice from behind me, I backed off slightly.

“Oh good, you’re here Tsubaki. I would rather you make my coffee than this imbecile, he has no idea what he’s doing,” Kid scoffed at me.

My mouth opened, but no words came out. I really wish I wasn’t currently working so I could give Kid a taste of something, but I have to follow the company policy of ‘the customer’s always right’, especially if Tsubaki was, literally, right in front of me.

“Soul, go ahead and take the rest of the order,” Tsubaki spoke loud enough for me to hear as she took Kid’s empty coffee cup from my hands.

I gave a slight nod and positioned myself in front of the cash register right again. The older sister ordered a green tea with one sugar under the name ‘Liz’, while the younger ordered a strawberry banana smoothie under the name ‘Patty’.

“That’ll be $8.17,” I said as I looked up at the trio standing in front of me.

Kid handed me a $10, where I cashed it in and returned his change, and then the three moved off to the side counter where they could pick up their drinks. I poured some hot water into Liz’s cup and placed a green tea bag in it, added a sugar packet and stirred, handed it to her, and then moved on to make Patty’s smoothie.

It didn’t take long for the group’s order to be finished, and then they were soon out the door. I let out a sigh once Kid was gone, he had this sort of stressful aura around him. I really didn’t understand how those two sisters didn’t care much about his antics.

“Some guy Kid is,” I spoke out to Tsubaki to lighten up the mood as I rinsed out the blender filled with strawberry banana smoothie remains.

“Yup that’s him,” Tsubaki weakly smiled as some of her black hair fell in front of her face, “he’s very judgemental and wants everything done a specific way. It’s best to just let me or another senior worker do his coffee, or else he really would flip it.”

“Good to know,” I muttered to myself as I placed the clean blender back in its proper place.

After pacing slightly and going through the cash register to organize the money inside, the bell on the door chimed. I looked up to see a blonde girl with pigtails and preppy clothes walk in. I eyed her as she stood far back from the counter, her eyes squinted in thought.

After a few moments, she strolled up to me to say her order, “one café mocha please!”

I punched in her order onto the cash register, “that’ll be $2.10. What’s the name for your order?”

“Maka,” the girl said as she handed me the exact amount in coins. 

I placed the coins in the register and then went to go and make her drink. A café mocha wasn’t too complicated: espresso, milk, chocolate, and whipped cream and a chocolate syrup drizzle on top. I headed over to the espresso bean grinder, and ground up some fresh beans to use, and then attached the portafilter to the machine and poured a double shot. At the same time, I frothed some milk with added chocolate milk. When all was done, I poured the frothed chocolate milk mix into the cup and added the whipped cream and chocolate drizzle on top.

“Café mocha for Maka?” I called out as I placed the drink on the pick-up counter, but not too loud as not to disturb the other customers.

“Yes,” Maka walked over with a lid ready for her drink, “thanks!”

“No problem,” I said, looking at her one more time, and then she turned around and stepped out the door.


	2. t w o

Everyone has those moments where they make the stupidest, dumbest, decisions in their life. Well, today was my lucky day.

I stayed over last night at Black Star’s, as I didn’t have work yesterday. We stayed up all night playing video games, and I didn’t realize I had to go to work until my phone alarm went off after only an hour of sleeping.

Also, note to self: do not disturb Black Star when he’s sleeping. Or else he’ll kill you.

The regular shift at the coffee shop was beyond unbearable, and I swear I’ve never felt more tired in my life. It hurt to keep my eyes open, and I kept asking customers to repeat their orders because I was so drowsy.

“Are you okay Soul? You look sickly,” Tsubaki asked me as we were both making drinks for an order.

“Yeah,” I mumbled and yawned as I poured a decaf coffee into a cup, “I was at Black Star’s last night, and we were up all night. It completely slipped my mind that I had work today.”

“Oh Black Star,” Tsubaki chuckled as she called out a finished order, “you always keep him entertained.”

The bell on the door rang again, the sound echoing in my ears. Oh god the last thing I want is a rush, I’m too dead for this.

When I looked up from where I was, I saw that blonde Maka girl walk in, but this time, she was with a kid who had pink hair. I couldn’t tell if this kid beside her was a boy or a girl, or maybe I was too exhausted to think about that.

Maka and the pink-haired kid approached me at my register, but the other kid kept a distance from her.

“One café mocha please and…” she trailed off as she turned around to ask the pink-haired kid what he wanted, “…and he’ll have a black coffee.”

“That’ll be $3.89,” I said and Maka handed me her order’s total exactly in coins, “what’s the name for your order?”

“Just put them both under Maka,” she said as her and the pink-haired kid moved to the pick-up table.

I finished both orders of drinks in not that long of a time frame, as both drinks were basically the easiest thing to make: poured hot coffee into one of the cups and prepared the café mocha by pouring an espresso shot, frothing the milk, and the adding whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.

“Order for Maka,” I called out as I slid the two coffees onto the pick-up counter.

“Thanks,” Maka said as she took her coffee and handed the other to her pink-haired friend.

As I turned my back on the departing customers, I heard a loud spit and an exclamation that jolted me awake, “WHAT THE HELL? YOU, WITH THE WHITE HAIR!”

I turned around to see Maka, pointing a finger at me with her face as red as a tomato, “you messed up my coffee! You didn’t even add chocolate, this is a latte with whipped cream and chocolate syrup!”

She slammed her cup down, and I just stared at her, my brain too dead to think of anything to say. As I was about to say something, Tsubaki jumped in front of me.

“Oh goodness, we’re so sorry! Here, I’ll make another one, on the house,” Tsubaki let out an embarrassed laugh, as the whole coffee shop was staring at Maka’s freak out, and bowed politely.

“I would very much appreciate that,” Maka said with her eyebrows furrowed and arms crossed over her chest, “maybe whip some sense into this idiot while you’re at it.”

Before I could say anything, Tsubaki grabbed the old drink and dumped it down the sink, “Soul, go and clean some things or reorganize something, just make it look like you’re busy.”

I nodded, and then Tsubaki added, “maybe also make sure to get a good night’s sleep before work next time, at home by yourself and not with Black Star.”

“Sure, whatever you say ‘mother’,” I let out a snicker, and Tsubaki laughed along at my joke.

As I went to go occupy myself, I continued to chuckle silently. Not because of my joke, that was super lame, but because the way Maka flipped out was utterly hilarious.


	3. t h r e e

Work seemed to be pretty slow today. Tsubaki had to take an unexpected leave because her brother wasn’t doing well, so she would be going back home to Japan for a couple weeks, and she left me in charge as acting manager. I really don’t know why she chose me when there were a few other workers who had more seniority than me, and I don’t see myself as much of a team leader.

Maybe it was because she trusted me, who knows.

I found myself to be cleaning the same things over and over again more than usual, and I had already used my ‘one free drink’ privilege at the start of my shift, so there really wasn’t anything to do.

“Hey Soul!~” I heard a loud and bubbly voice call out along with the chime from the bell on the front door.

I looked up from what I was doing, “hey Blair! How are you?” 

“I’m doing good~,” Blair stretched over the counter and pulled me into a tight hug, it took almost all my strength to restrict myself from having a nosebleed as my face was buried in her breasts.

“I think I’m gonna take my usual drink today Soul,” Blair let me go and stood up, looking at the menu in thought.

“An iced caramel macchiato, you got it,” I punched in her order into the cash register, “you already know the price.”

“Yup! $3.75,” she smiled as she opened her purse and handed me a $5 bill.

I placed the bill in the register and handed her the change, “I’ll get to it for you.”

As I was making Blair’s drink, I saw out of the corner of my eye Blair grabbing an unused chair and slid it over to an open space of the counter. She liked to pull up a chair and chat with me while she drank her drink.

“One iced caramel macchiato,” I handed her the drink she ordered, “also, I’ve been practising my art with the sauces, so I drew a cat with chocolate sauce on top.”

Blair looked down at her drink and saw a nearly perfect cat face drawn on top of her drink and gave me a big smile, “oh Soul it’s so cute! Thank you so much!” She reached out one of her dark painted nails and booped my nose, my face flushed a bright shade of pink.

“So,” Blair said as she stuck a straw into her drink and began mixing it around, “what’s new here?”

“Not much,” I replied as I cleaned the equipment I used to make her drink, “it’s been dead here all day. I’ve counted how many customers have come today because of it, you’re our 7th.”

“Lucky number 7!” She smiled while making a peace sign with her fingers.

“Yeah. Otherwise, Tsubaki’s going to be gone for a while. She had to fly home because her brother isn’t doing well,” I said as I leaned against an open space of counter that was close to her.

“Oh no,” Blair frowned, “I hope he’s alright. I remember Tsubaki always said he’s been sort of estranged from the family. She’s already been stressed out with the shop not having much business.”

“Yeah, it’s that time of the year when business slows down,” I sighed, “anyways, do you want to hear a funny story?”

“Of course I do!” Blair exclaimed and sipped more of her drink.

“Alright so the other day, I completely forgot I had work and basically pulled an all-nighter, so when I was here I was beyond dead,” I started, “and so I messed up this girl’s order and honestly her reaction was hilarious I was trying so hard not to laugh.”

“Really,” my purple-haired friend placed a finger on her pursed lips, “do you remember her name? Or what she looked like?”

“I think her name is Maka. She’s got blonde hair, dresses preppy, is kind of uhm…” I motioned to my chest, “flat...?”

“Maka!” Blair exclaimed, “yeah I know her, Maka Albarn! She lives beside my apartment, we’re neighbours!”

“She does?” I choked a bit on my spit and let out a cough.

“Yeah! She and her dad lived together, I can always hear her bickering with him,” Blair leaned down to take a sip of her drink, and began fiddling with the straw as she talked, “from what I’ve heard, her parents are divorced, but her mom is always travelling. Even from my point of view, I find some of her freak outs to be hilarious!”

“Funny,” I said, “but that sucks about her parents.”

“Yeah, Mizune always complains about how loud the two of them are. I’ve lost track of how many times she’s tried to get them evicted,” Blair gave a small smile, “but that’s Mizune. We all have some sort of crazy roommate in our lifetime.”

“Although,” she paused, “I have seen her dad before, and he always seems to swoon over me! Then again, who wouldn’t!”

“Ew Blair that’s gross! He’s probably an old man,” I let out a laugh.

“He’s actually young,” she added, causing me to stop laughing, “probably early 30s or so.”

There was a bit of a comfortable silence between us, where Blair kept sipping her drink and I shuffled my feet along the tiled floor. Luckily, another customer walked in and it gave me an excuse to move around. I took the order, made the drink, and the customer went to sit at an open table, which happened to be every table in the shop.

“Y’know,” Blair piped up, causing me to turn my head, “maybe you should play a prank on Maka, since you really like to see her obnoxious reactions.”

“A prank?” I asked, I felt like this wasn’t right, but I was intrigued by what Blair was talking about.

“Yeah! Since Tsubaki isn’t here, you can fool around! Every time Maka comes, mess up her order in some way, it’ll be funny,” she smirked.

“I’m not sure Blair,” I tapped my chin, “Tsubaki left me in charge because she trusts me. Plus, that seems kind of rude, everyone always hates it when their coffee order is messed up.”

“Oh alright,” she pouted, then leaned over the counter and pinched my cheek, “but you got to have fun Soul! Let loose, enjoy life!”

“Okay okay,” I laughed, swatting her arm away, “I’ll let you know if I decide to do it.”

Blair nodded. She then pulled out her phone as she finished up sipping her drink, “hey Soul, I gotta leave I have work soon.”

“Alright that’s cool, good luck at Chuppa Cabra’s.”

“Thanks!” She smiled as she tossed her empty drink cup in the trash behind her.

“You know, maybe I’ll see Maka’s dad there. He seems like a guy who’d go to places like my work.” She giggled as she returned her chair to the table she took it from.

“Blair you’re so gross I hope you know that,” I let out a chuckle.

She gave me a smile as she headed towards the door, “I’ll see you soon okay Soul?”

“Yup, bye Blair!” The two of us exchanged waves as Blair walked out of the coffee shop, her purple hair bouncing behind her.

Once she left, it was quiet yet again in the shop, except for the quiet piano music that was playing over the stereos. The peace gave me some time to think about what Blair told me: should I play that prank on Maka? It seemed cruel, but the way she overreacts to little things was hilarious, to the point where it was kind of cute.

I shook my head to push away the thoughts. Me, thinking the way Maka reacted was cute? Never in a million years. Maka wasn’t even that cute to begin with, plus, there’s women like Blair that exist in the world. I let out a sigh and decided to busy myself with cleaning for the hundredth time today.


	4. f o u r

Because I was acting manager while Tsubaki was gone, I was working long shifts almost every day, practically open to close. Business had picked up slightly since I had my encounter with Blair, but not by much. It was maybe just one of those times when we didn’t get much customer traffic.

Speaking of Blair, I have thought about what she said. I do love playing pranks, especially to those who were unsuspecting of it. And Maka just seemed like she deserved it. But at the same time, some feeling deep down in my gut told me I shouldn’t. I have no idea why I felt the way I did, but it was unfamiliar, and it made me feel like throwing up. I especially felt it when the bell on the door rang, signalling someone was entering. I would always jolt my head up to see if it was Maka, and it never was.

Until it was about early afternoon.

The bell on the door rang, and I honestly could’ve vomited right into the drink I was making. Maka strolled in, wearing her usual preppy clothes and her hair was in its usual two pigtails.

She approached me at the cash because there was no line, “one café mocha please.”

“$3.89,” was all I managed to say when I looked her in the face.

Her green eyes seemed to stare right through, sharp like daggers. She shrugged and handed me exact cash for her drink.

As I went to prepare her drink, I stopped myself as I allowed the coffee bean grinder to grind up some espresso beans, was this really worth it?

Do it Soul. You have been acting so stuck up lately, being such a good boy at work, doing what Tsubaki told you. It’s about time you have some fun.

“No,” I grunted as I forcefully compressed the ground-up espresso beans in the portafilter.

You know you want to do it. You’re letting yourself get too sane. Let loose, go crazy. Go insane.

As I placed the portafilter into its proper spot, latched onto the coffee machine, I felt an insane grin spread across my face. I haven’t let my hair down in a while, why not?

I continued to make Maka’s drink as she ordered it, but intentionally forgot to add the whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. As I slid Maka her drink across the pick-up counter, I did my best to act as cool as possible despite my heart racing with part adrenaline and part fear.

“Hey buddy,” she spoke up flatly, “this comes with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.”

I stared at her, acting as dumb as I could, “whoops, my bad.”

I took the drink back and added what I quote on quote forgot, and slid it back to her, “here you go.”

She stared at me and muttered ‘jeez you can’t get a simple order right can you?’ under her breath.

I let out a sigh of relief. That wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I was disappointed that she didn’t have as big of a reaction as she did the other day. Whatever, I just went ahead and cleaned up the equipment that I used.

Every so often, I would take a look at Maka. She sat at a small table by herself with a handful of books spread out in front of her, and she also seemed to be listening to something as she had earbuds in her ears. I knew she was a nerd right from the get go and seeing her furiously read what was in front of her solidified my theory. Never in a million years would I go after a nerdy girl, although, the way her tongue stuck out slightly while she concentrated was kind of cute.

After about half an hour or so after Maka ordered and plopped herself at a table, Blair walked in. She walked around to the side of the counter where she would always sit at and leaned over to me.

“So, did you do it?” She nodded her head over to Maka who was still sitting at her table.

“I did,” I said, “and honestly she didn’t have that big of a reaction compared to what I thought. Do you know why?”

“I did hear her and dad arguing once again today,” Blair pursed her lips, “it was really heated, maybe she’s tired from it.”

I didn’t say anything, but then Blair piped up in her loud and bubbly voice, “anyways Soul, I’ll get my usual! Can you do that for me pretty please~?”

I let out a delighted sigh, “yeah sure I’ll ring you up.”

I punched in her order of an iced caramel macchiato, and she handed me a $5 bill. I exchanged it for change and then went to make her drink. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blair walk back to her spot, but instead of pulling up a chair to sit with me, she stood and rocked on her heels.

“Are you going to grab a chair or something?” I asked as I finished off her drink with a caramel syrup drizzle.

“No,” she said as I handed her the drink she ordered, “I’m in and out for today. I’m taking Mizune to the mall to do some shopping, she’s been so on edge lately and needs to relax. Maybe she’s stressed out from our noisy neighbours.”

“Heh, you’re probably right. Enjoy your time though,” I said to Blair as she stuck a straw into her drink.

“Thanks!” she smiled, “let me know if anything else happens!”

“Will do,” I smiled as I watched her leave.

As I returned back to my work station, I just so happened to make eye contact with Maka, who seemed to be looking at me the whole time I was talking with Blair. She quickly looked back at her books and sipped her coffee the second we made eye contact. Even if it was for a split second, her gaze was piercing, and I yet again felt the feeling of nausea in my stomach.


	5. f i v e

I went into work having the same mindset as I did the other day, convincing myself that I did not have a crush on Maka. And I clearly don’t. Someone who would be in denial wouldn’t acknowledge how they’re feeling, and I am totally aware of my feelings, 100%. I’m the same ol’ Soul like I’ve always been. I have a type, and that type clearly isn’t Maka.

I was booked to come later today and not right when the store opened like usual. Although, when I woke up, I just stared at my ceiling, thinking about how I’m clearly not in denial.

I heaved open the door to the coffee shop, to see that it was yet again pretty dead. There were 2 of my coworkers working, although they both looked to be bored out of their minds. I let out a quiet sigh, knowing that I would probably be feeling the same way until my shift lasted until closing.

“Hey Soul,” one of my coworkers, Ox, cracked a friendly smile at me as best he could, “how’re you?”

“I’m good. Is business slow today?” I glance over at him as I put on a spare apron that was hanging up.

“Yup,” Ox said as he finished cleaning one of the espresso machines, “Jackie and I haven’t gotten many customers. I swear I’m going to pull out my hair I don’t know what to do with myself!”

As Ox laughed awkwardly at his remark, I stared at the top of his head. He had a shaved head, so I really don’t know what hair he was going to pull out. His eyebrows perhaps? My other coworker who Ox was with, Jackie, gave me a small smile.

I glanced around, realizing that there wasn’t much for 3 people to do, and I was really anxious that Maka would come in, and I wanted her to think that I was the only person working, like the last few times that have happened when Tsubaki was away. I glanced around, and then I realized what job I could give to my fellow coworkers.

“Hey,” I said, catching Ox and Jackie’s attention, “could you guys perhaps do a thorough inventory count? I forgot to do one the other day and I would appreciate it if it was done. Take this notepad and write down how much of everything we have so I can order more things.”

I handed Ox one of the notepads that we used to use for taking orders that was laying by the cash register, along with a pen. Ox and Jackie both smiled brightly as they turned and walked into the back room. As they stepped away, I head Ox pestering Jackie about setting him up with her friend, Kim. I returned to do some mindless task to occupy myself, and to look for the few customers who were in the shop. I swear I could take a nap for my entire shift and not get a single customer.

“HEY SOUL!! GET ME A CUP OF COFFEE, BLACK!” An obnoxious voice belted out along with the door to the shop slamming open. 

“Ok Black Star I get it, you’re excited to see me, but you got to lower your voice,” I hushed my best friend as I saw the customers in the shop gave angry looks to Black Star and shushed him.

“Sorry bro, I just felt like it’s been years since I last saw you,” Black Star said in a quieter voice as he approached the counter.

“A couple days can really feel like a couple years,” once Black Star got close enough to me, we preformed our special handshake like we always did when we saw each other, “so, one coffee black?”

“Yup,” he grinned as he pulled out a $5 bill, already knowing what the price was for his order.

“So, what’s new with you? How’s Tsubaki?” I asked my friend as I prepared his coffee.

“She’s doing good, and I’m doing better!” He let out a hearty laugh as he stood by the counter where I was, similar to what Blair does.

“Good,” I muttered as I slid him his coffee.

Black Star took a sip right away of his piping hot coffee. He let out a satisfying sigh as he put the cup back down, the man had the strongest taste buds I swear. He could eat anything and not complain, he could literally drink the hottest coffee and not be phased by the burning sensation on his tongue. He was absolutely insane.

“Y’know Soul,” Black Star stretched out his arms, “it really sucks that you’ve been working so much we have to hang out again.”

“Yeah. Well, Tsubaki made me acting manager while she’s gone and I’m working almost every day. The only thing I look forward to after these few weeks is the fat paycheck I’ll receive,” I glanced over at my friend as I cleaned up my work area.

“We should go out somewhere cool once you get payed,” Black Star suggested as he sipped his coffee again.

“We could do that. Or…. we could order a ton of food and do a mukbang,” I added, giving him an excited look.

“Yahoo!” Black Star cried out with the same look I gave him, “it’s a date. No homo bromo.”

“No homo bromo,” I laughed as the two of us bumped fists.

Once things quieted down between the two of us, I broke the silence, “hey Black Star, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah sure what’s up,” he responded, his tone more serious than before.

“Well uhm, I think I like this girl,” I began, staring down at my feet.

“Ooh, me likey,” he gave me an obnoxious seductive eyebrow raise, which caused me to snort.

“Ok back to what I was saying. So, I do like this girl, but like… she’s not exactly uhh, my type you know?”

Black Star tapped his chin, he knew me better than anyone on earth so of course he knew the type of girls I am interested in, “if she’s not your usual type, what’s she like then?”

“She’s,” I felt myself cringe, “nerdy.”

Black Star choked on the coffee he was drinking, “ew Soul you’re falling for a dork?! That’s so uncool!”

“I know I know,” I banged my head on the counter in front of me to try and rid the thought of Maka from my head, “but like, I think she’s really cute! I’ve never liked girls who are so bookish and hang around in coffee shops for hours. I like girls like Blair!”

“Why don’t you just date Blair? You guys are close anyways,” Black Star crossed his arms. 

“I see her as more of a sister or close friend I can’t do that to her,” I let out a sigh, “maybe I could ask her to set me up with a friend of hers.”

“Although,” I continued, “I have been playing this prank on her where I mess up her order every time she comes in. I find her over-the-top reactions to be funny, and also I think the more I do that, the less I will like her.”

“That’s a really smart idea,” Black Star nodded, “if she comes in, I want to see this go down.”

Just as Black Star finished speaking, the familiar chime of the door rang, and Maka entered. It was just her, no pink-haired kid with her, and she was wearing her usual preppy get up of a white blouse, yellow sweater vest and red checkered skirt.

“Crap, man,” I rolled my eyes playfully at Black Star, “that’s the girl.”

“Ohhhhh,” Black Star tapped his chin in a thinking manner, “you’re right she’s a total dork.”

As Maka approached me at the cash register, she looked me dead in the eyes and said her order, “one café mocha please. And don’t mess it up.”

“$3.89,” I replied flatly, which then she handed me a $5 bill.

I gave her back her change and went on to make her drink. I prepared her drink as I usually would, except I didn’t add the whipped cream and chocolate drizzle, it was just the chocolate latte.

As I handed Maka her drink, I quickly turned around as to not make eye contact with her. After cleaning up my station, I heard her sneer from behind me.

“Dude, what are you, 5 years old? You messed up my drink. No whipped cream and chocolate drizzle again.”

I walked over to the pick-up counter and stared at Maka as I grabbed her drink, giving her a look that I was doing this on purpose, “whoops, I’ll fix it.”

Maka and I kept our eyes locked on one another until she blinked and looked away. She knew that she was powerless against me and what I was doing, she knew she could kick and scream all she wanted, but nothing would work. With Tsubaki gone, I was in charge. She couldn’t complain to anyone, she was helpless.

God, I sound like a psychopath.

“Here’s your drink,” I slid it back to her.

“Thanks,” she grumbled and headed to a table to where she pulled out a handful of books and began to read.

I let out a sigh as I returned to Black Star, who let out a whistle, “wow, that was rough.”

“See how I feel now?” I said as I watched him finish off his coffee and toss the cup in the trash, sinking it in.

“Yup. Look, I’ve got things to do and places to go, so I’m going to skedaddle,” Black Star said as he stretched himself out.

“Cool,” I said as the two of us exchanged our handshake, “I’ll see you later.”

“See ya!” Black Star called out as he hopped out the door.

“Wow, that girl is a bit of a lunatic,” a woman with golden hair with a black snake tattoo that crawled up her arm said as she approached the register.

“Oh, you saw that?” I asked, a bit embarrassed.

“The whole thing, I was just waiting for you to finish chatting with your blue-haired friend,” the lady said as she motioned with her thumb to the door that Black Star exited out of, “and don’t worry too much about the girl, all girls are like that at some point. They will eventually grow out of it. Plus, you made an honest mistake, there really is no harm in that.”

“Heh. So, what can I get for you?” I asked as I tapped on the register to awaken its screen.

“A tea latte with one sweetener,” she replied.

“That’ll be $2.99,” I said as I punched in her order, “what is the name for the order?”

“Medusa,” the lady practically hissed out her own name, “I’ll be paying with credit.”

I activated the machine and slid it to Medusa, who promptly tapped her card on its screen. Then, I took a cup and wrote down Medusa’s order and her name on it. Her drink didn’t take long to make, it was very similar to making a regular latte. As I finished pouring in the frothed milk over the tea, I added a sweetener packet to the drink and stirred it in.

“Here you go ma’am,” I slid Medusa her drink at the pick-up counter.

“Thanks..” she grabbed her drink and from what I could tell she was glancing down at my nametag, “..Soul. That’s a very cool name.”

“Thanks, yours too,” I replied, and she gave me a smile that seemed slightly fake, but I didn’t think much of it as she pushed open the door with her tattooed arm to leave.

I let out a sigh and yet again cleaned up the equipment I used. After a few moments to myself, Jackie and Ox emerged from the back room and handed me back the pad of paper and pen.

“Alright that was the most thorough inventory check we’ve ever done, but here’s everything!” Jackie smiled as I stared at the notepad and flipped through the pages.

“Y’know,” I began as I placed the pad down by the register, “you can be honest with me and say you sat around back there. I’m not like Tsubaki.”

“Ok you’re right we did fart around back there,” Ox added bluntly.

“Anyways, our shifts are over so we’re going to head out,” Jackie said as her and Ox took off their aprons and grabbed their bags that were hanging up on the hooks we had for employees’ personal belongings.

“Alright cool. I’ll see you guys,” I nodded at them.

“Bye Soul!” Jackie and Ox both waved at me as they left the coffee shop.

I let out a sigh as I scoped the coffee shop, and then allowed my eyes to settle on Maka. She was invested in what she was reading, which allowed me to stare at her longer than usual. I still really think I don’t like her. I mean, why would a guy as cool as me like a dork like her?


	6. s i x

I was extremely glad that I didn’t have work yesterday, because I had a lot to think about, and laying at home in my bed all day was the perfect way to handle it. I thought about what that Medusa lady said about Maka would grow out of her attitude. I doubted it, she seemed like a sketchy woman. She has that vibe like she’s killed someone.

Although, I have come to the conclusion that I do have feelings for Maka, it was inevitable to doubt them at this point. I just feel extremely guilty that I probably messed up a potential relationship, and all she’ll see me as is the barista who always messes up her order. But I was determined to turn things around, I was going to be the bigger man and make things right. That’s what cool guys do.

I decided that I wouldn’t play my prank on her. Every time I kept debating on whether I should or shouldn’t, my gut feeling told me that enough was enough and I just needed to reconcile with her. What I planned to do was I would write my phone number on the side of her cup in hopes that she would notice it while drinking her café mocha.

Once I began my shift at work the next day, business was slow, and I was anticipating Maka entering. Nothing happened. I would check the front door ever so often and watched the clock tick by ever so slowly. Like usual, there were two other people who were working with me, and we were all just about ready to blow our brains out due to boredom. I decided to just send my coworkers home, I was the one in charge and it would be selfish to leave them there if I left instead. When I dismissed them, I pulled out my phone and texted Tsubaki that I let whoever I was working with go home early. She didn’t respond right away, so I assumed it was night time in Japan and she was sleeping.

Once I got more into my shift, I instantly regretted sending home my coworkers because it got busy. Crazy busy, never before have I seen so many people in one coffee shop before. I was overwhelmed and was on the verge of screaming. I was hopping back and forth between taking orders, making drinks, and putting them out for people. And I couldn’t text my coworkers to come back, nor could I tell Tsubaki that I needed them back. Everything was just a mess.

Within the rush, a familiar face with emerald green eyes finally made their way to the front of the line, “one café mocha please.”

“That will be…” I hesitated and looked up to see Maka, whose face was rather expressionless, “$3.89.”

Maka handed me exact change for her order and made a beeline to the pick-up counter. As I pulled out a cup for her order, I scribbled down my phone number, so it was just visible from where the top of the paper sleeve fit. I completed her simple order: espresso shot, frothed chocolate milk, whipped cream and chocolate drizzle, I knew I did it right. 

When I was done, I slid her order to her on the pick-up counter and began making another order. Just as I was handing out my next order, something hit me like a wave, literally. A hot, burning wave, and I felt like my face just got scorched with hot water.

When I managed to open my stinging eyes, I saw Maka’s face, she was red and livid. I glanced down at her hand to see her coffee cup was empty and dripping, but I never heard anything fall on the ground. As I wiped back some of my white hair from my face, I realized what had happened.

She threw her coffee at my face.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL MAN?!” Maka screamed, causing the entire shop to go silent, “you gave me another latte, when I asked for a café mocha! I swear, all I want is a decent cup of coffee from my favourite place, but your dumb ass always messes it up! Why?! I know you’re doing this on purpose it is no accident! I am sick and tired of your antics, and I am going to complain to the corporate office of this place and get you fired!!”

I clenched my fists, trying to calm down and restrain myself from talking back, because we weren’t allowed to. But now, all hell was about to break loose.

“Look Maka. Right now, I’ve never been more overwhelmed in my life!! Take a look at all these people here, of course I may mess up your order I’m the only person working! And to all those other orders, yeah, I did that on purpose. Why you may ask? Because I found your obnoxious reactions hilarious and cute, but if I’m being honest I find everything about you cute. I played this dumb prank because I didn’t know how to talk to you, and look, I manned up and finally wrote my number on the side of your cup so perhaps we could talk and laugh about this. Look, I’m really sorry, but I have to continue to do my job and not screw up other coffee orders,” I let out a huge heave after my rant, feeling like I was going to pass out from the lack of air I breathed in.

With everyone still silently staring at us, Maka moved her coffee cup closer to her face and pushed down the sleeve, staring at the number inscribed in black ink from a pen. The two of us stared at each other for a moment, Maka with an apologetic look in her eyes. She then reaches into her bag and pulls out a $20 bill.

“Here,” she hands it out to me, and I accept it, “for all the trouble I’ve caused. And you don’t have to make me another coffee.”

Maka turned on her heels and headed out the door, with other customers parting like the Red Sea as she exited. I shove the 20 she gave me and let out a sigh. I returned to my position at the cash register and called out that I could help the next person in line.

As I took the next order, I saw Maka walking away outside from the corner of my eye. I couldn’t help but feel the guilt begin to consume me from the inside. I swallowed it back down and went to go make and order, and at the same time, I did my best to not let tears fall from my eyes as I realized I screwed everything up.


	7. s e v e n

When I finally got home from work, I felt motivated to distract myself from what happened today, so I ordered myself a pizza and watched a movie. And I felt like it greatly helped, combining the noise of something on T.V. and eating food kept my mind off of today’s incident. About halfway through the movie I was watching, my phone rang loudly and caused me to jump. I paused the movie and saw a number that wasn’t in my contacts was calling, so I shrugged and answered it.

“Hello?” I asked into my phone as I swallowed the pizza I was chewing.

“Hi, is this Soul from the coffee shop?” The voice on the other end seemed familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint who it was.

“Yeah, who’s this?” I asked once again.

“It’s Maka, y’know, the girl who threw coffee at you,” I could hear Maka’s voice shake slightly from her end.

“Oh,” I sat up from my position of laying down on the couch, “I see you got my number.”

“Heh, yeah,” she paused, “look, I’m calling because I wanted to apologize for my behaviour. I’m a perfectionist and when things don’t go my way I get pissed, and at one point it’ll all just boil over. I was acting very immature and I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright,” I said in a nonchalant tone, “if I’m being honest you made things livelier at the coffee shop. It’s been so dead lately and I’ve been bored out of my mind.”

Maka let out a small laugh, and as she was about to say something, she was interrupted by a voice that from what I could tell sounded like a man. She then proceeded to yell at whoever was in the same room, but it sounded muffled as if she put down her phone and walked away from it. Finally, the loud slam of a door from her end of the line that caused me to jump. Maka returned to pick up the phone, and was muttering to herself, the only words I could hear clearly were “dumb dad”.

“Who was that?” I asked, acting oblivious to the fact that Maka didn’t have the best relationship with her dad, from of what Blair told me previously.

“Oh yeah. Sorry that was my stupid father walking in,” she scoffed.

“Why’s he ‘dumb’ and ‘stupid’? He seems nice.”

“He’s anything but nice,” she began, “he would always cheat on my mom, I first began noticing it when I was a little kid. But now, they’re finally divorced. My mom has full custody of me, but she’s constantly travelling for work, so we made an agreement with my dad that when I’m done school here, I’m gonna go live with my mom, wherever she is in the world. The last place I know where she’s at is in the Middle East. She sends me post cards once a month or so, and I recently got one from her.”

“That’s very cool,” I said, as I picked a pepperoni of the piece of pizza I had in front of me and ate it.

“Yeah. Honestly, I feel like the parent and my dad’s the kid sometimes. But I like school here and constantly hang at the library or the coffee shop to be away from him,” she laughed, “what’re your parents like Soul?”

I sucked in a breath, causing me to almost choke on my pepperoni. I was comfortable with any gross or weird topic of conversation, but it when it came to talking about my parents, I just wanted to avoid mentioning them at all costs.

“Oh,” I said, trying to not sound like I couldn’t breathe, “I’ve sort of estranged myself for personal reasons.”

I wasn’t lying to Maka. I was a complete disappointment to my parents, I brought disgrace to our family name. I came from a wealthy family, but my parents were the most snobbish and unloving people I’ve ever met. They always gave attention to my older brother, making me feel like I was a mistake.

“Aww, I’m sorry to hear that,” Maka spoke in a sympathetic tone, “you’re always welcome at my place if you’re ever lonely or bored.”

“Thanks, that’s cool of you. But I usually visit my best friend a lot, and we sleep over at each other’s apartments often, so I’m never too alone. I do have more than one friend though. Tsubaki is my boss but is also my best friend’s girlfriend, and Blair too,” I clarified to her.

“Blair…” Maka paused in thought, “she’s the tall girl with purple hair and big boobs, right?”

I coughed in reaction to the way that she described her, “yup that’s her.”

“Yeah! She works at a club that my dumb dad always visits, and we’re neighbours. Her roommate always complains about how much noise we’re making,” Maka added. 

There was a little bit of an awkward silence, but we soon picked up a conversation topic about annoying things people did. Our conversation further developed, and we talked as if we were friends who haven’t seen each other in a long time and were catching up. We talked about general things in our lives, shared embarrassing stories, and ranted about stupid things. I never have had such a long conversation with someone like what I was doing with Maka. Black Star and I were both hyper, and we usually talked about dumb things together. Blair and mine’s friendship was definitely more intimate, but I don’t think that we were close with one another like this.

Eventually, Maka and I got onto the conversation topic of movies we liked, since Maka explained that she didn’t watch much T.V. because she doesn’t like the shows that have been playing these last few years.

“You know,” Maka said, “I really want to go see the new superhero movie in theatres. I don’t have many friends, and I don’t think Crona would want to see it, he’s too timid! Plus, I don’t think I should bring him to such a public place as a movie theatre, and his mom is super controlling and the only time we hang out is when we study together.”

“That’s true,” I tapped my chin as I listened to Maka talk about her pink-haired friend, who I sometimes happened to see with her at the coffee shop, “I haven’t seen it yet but I really want to.”

“We could go see it together,” she suggested.

“Like a date?” I asked while trying to keep my cool-guy exposure despite feeling myself get slightly giddy.

Maka snorted with laughter, “only if you want it to be.”

“Alright then,” I smiled, “it’s a date.”

“Yup,” Maka giggled from her end of the line, “a ‘date’.”


	8. e p i l o g u e

If I’m being honest, I found double dates to be really dumb, since “dates” are supposed to be just between you and your partner. However, I was looking for some time to hang out with Black Star, and Tsubaki mentioned the idea that her, Black Star, Maka, and I should go on a group date. I complied, not only because I would be with all my favourite people at once, but also because I needed to let the girls do their own thing.

And speaking of letting girls do their own thing, Tsubaki and Maka decided to go to the mall to do some shopping. Honestly, I hated shopping more than anything, but again, I’m letting them do their own thing.

When we got to the mall, Tsubaki and Maka dragged us to this giant two-floored bookstore. I had a feeling like this was Maka’s idea, but she was denying that the decision was all hers. We looked around on the first floor, but then decided to go up to the second floor to look at where the fiction works were. As we travelled up the escalator, the group and I noticed there was a blue piano sitting out that was free for anybody to play on.

“Soul! You should totally go and play the piano,” Black Star elbowed me as we admired the piano, and how the light from the store reflected beautifully off its navy-blue shine.

“I haven’t played in public in such a long time,” I pushed him away, “let alone in front of so many strangers.”

“I never knew you played, Soul,” Maka said as she swung our laced hands back and forth, “you should totally go and play.”

I sucked in a breath and let go of her hand to approach the piano, “sure, I don’t see any harm in that.”

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Black Star screamed, causing other shoppers to stare at us, “you listen to your girlfriend and not me?? What kind of friend are you Soul?!”

I took one last glance at my group of friends before I sat down at the piano bench, and saw Black Star giving Maka a noogie, Maka angrily yelling at him, and Tsubaki doing her best to calm them both down.

I cracked my fingers and tapped one note of the piano, letting it ring out. It sounded tuned, which was good. I was nervous about it not being in tune due to it being a public instrument. I held my fingers above the keys, waiting for the right time to start playing. And also because I didn’t know what to play: I wanted to play something that was common enough for the shoppers to know, but nothing that was too generic.

“You got this Soul!” “Go Soul, you can do it!” I heard the quiet cheers of my friends who have stood around me, but not too close as to induce claustrophobia.

After sitting and waiting with my fingers above the keys, I decided on a song: Chopin’s Nocturne in E-Flat Major. It was one of my favourite pieces, definitely a softer one that doesn’t exactly describe me and my taste, but I was in a good mood to play something out of my comfort zone.

I let out a sigh and gently closed my eyes and played the first note. This song I knew off by heart, it was something that came so natural to me, like breathing. My mind knew what to do and my fingers knew what keys to play. I still did play the piano, I had sessions booked out in my school’s music hall where I would be alone. I practised songs that were more my type, as I soon became sick of playing classical music. It reminded me too much of my childhood, my family, and my parents. But today was okay, I was out with my friends having a good time, and thinking about my parents did not need to come across my mind.

After playing piano all my life, I sort of developed this sort of sixth sense while I played. I almost always played with my eyes closed to tune out my surroundings, so it would just be me and the music, but at the same time could sense what was happening. I did crack my eyes open to see a small crowd had gathered around me, lots of people had stopped to listen to me play, admiring how I was playing so flawlessly without any sheet music. But at the same time deep down, I knew some were judging me.

Crap why did I open my eyes? I didn’t falter, but I felt my arms stiffen and my fingers begin to feel more rigged. I wouldn’t be able to play as normally as I did if I was tense, it would lead to me not being able to properly hit the dynamics and have my arms flow from placement to placement on the piano. How do I calm down?

Luckily, I didn’t have to think much about calming myself down, as I felt Maka place her hand on my shoulder and give me a reassuring squeeze. Maka gave me to motivation to keep playing, and to not imagine the crowd as being as judgemental as my parents. 

After a few minutes of playing, I finally came to the end of my piece. I let out a huge sigh as I rose from my seated position on the bench. The crowd applauded and cheered loudly, so I bowed out to them with a smile on my face. It felt to be good to be appreciated for my work, that at this point was no longer hard, but effortless. This was like a recital, but in a much more relaxed environment.

I turn around to see my friends applauding and giving me love and support. I eventually settle my eyes on Maka, who gives me a warm smile. I never mentioned to her, even during our first phone call, that I played the piano. It reminded me too much of my past and my family. But now, I have a new family: my friends. They may not be my relatives by blood, but I know that they will be there to always support me.

Maka stepsforward towards me and wrapped her arms around me in an embrace. I hugged her back, pulling her in closer to me. Even though she wasn’t exactly my type of girl, she was, and forever will be, the coolest girlfriend I’ve ever had.


End file.
